In a constructivist learning process, students construct new meaning through their experiences. Students prior knowledge is the foundation of their learning whether or not it is accurate. Therefore, it is critical for teachers to find out what students already know so that misconceptions can be addressed. Classroom activities challenge students' understanding, which enables them to build knowledge and comprehension of new concepts. In every constructivist lesson, students are asked to compare their prior knowledge with their understanding after they experience a classroom activity or series of activities. Our lesson structures are based on learning cycle models. For example:

• Discuss
  Get out prior knowledge, set up activity/lesson.
  
  
• Explore
  Do activity.
  
  
• Reflect
  Look back at activity, analyze and discuss, etc.
  
  
• Apply
  Come to conclusions, communicate to others, identify next steps that lead to next Discuss phase.

To use constructivist curriculum materials as intended, teachers must be "the guide on the side" as opposed to "the sage on the stage." Our vision is a student-centered environment, where all students achieve some measure of success in classroom activities with explicitly stated learning goals. Students generally work in groups, although individual assessment is also important. The teacher/facilitator is encouraged to "float" among the groups, probing students with pointed questions designed to guide them toward the intended learning goals of the activity, and to assist them in constructing their own understanding. The roving teacher is also continually assessing student performance.

We view good instruction and good assessment to be indistinguishable. Thus, in all constructivist lessons there is an assessment of student understanding. Students must be assessed authentically in the context of their learning. Rubrics or "measures of success" may be provided with each lesson to guide the teacher in assessing students.

The design of every SSI curriculum project is guided by the various standards documents -- National Science Education Standards, Benchmarks for Science Literacy, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards.